McKeon is Australia’s most decorated Olympic athlete with a total of 11 medals from the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, surpassing the previous record of nine held by greats Ian Thorpe and Leisel Jones over the course of their careers.
The freestyle swimmer said great local swimming facilities were critical to nurturing the next generation of Olympians.
“I grew up around the water, at the beach, the backyard pool and the like so my love of swimming started early,” Ms McKeon said.
“The brand-new Parramatta Aquatic Centre gives kids from western Sydney the chance to learn to swim from a young age right on their doorstep.
“The facilities are second to none and I am sure there will one day be future Olympians who can say they swam their first lap at the PAC.”
PAC will be home to a 50m, 10-lane Olympic sized heated outdoor pool, 25m, 8-lane heated indoor pool, dedicated learn-to-swim indoor pool, spas, sauna, steam room, fitness centre and much more.
McKeon will be joined by Bondi Rescue lifeguards to meet the first group of swimmers at the brand-new facility which will open from 2pm.
Attendees will also be able to enjoy free ice cream and coffee at the venue on the day with a range of celebrations planned.
City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Sameer Pandey said it was an honour to have one of Australia’s greatest swimmers help open Parramatta Aquatic Centre.
“Parramatta Aquatic Centre is a world-class community facility so it makes sense to have a world-class swimmer like Emma McKeon poolside to help us celebrate,” Cr Pandey said.
“Our pools will support the next generation of Parramatta swimming talent from their first lap to their first swimming carnival and beyond.
“Having Emma here to meet the community could create the springboard our young swim stars need to really chase their dreams.”
PAC is also home to the City of Parramatta’s first all-abilities pool with ramps to enter the 50m and 25m pool and a level, beach-style entry into the water ‘splash and play’ zone. There are accessible change rooms as well as lifts and ramps to all indoor and outdoor areas.
The $88.6M project is being co-funded by Council and the NSW Government, which is investing $38.5M from the Restart NSW Fund.
For more information, visit www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/the-pac
